Ukraine: Another Example of our Problem

As I watch the events in Ukraine unfold in real time, I can’t help but think of my time there. I loved meeting the people, walking the beautiful city streets, learning its history, experiencing its charm and partaking in the slower pace of Ukrainian life. Watching what is being done to that beautiful country breaks my heart and forces me to ask the question, why?

Why is this taking place? We never seem to learn our lessons. Our history does not hid the fact that war destroys everything it touches, and yet, here we sit in 2022 watching a war that seems like a newsreel from times past. Shouldn’t we be better than this by now?

Like it or not, this is our world. Yet, we keeping hearing about how we are evolving and getting better. I don’t see it. I mean in the midst of war we are still speculating on whether the pandemic was caused by a man-made virus from a lab or not. There are still calls to defund the police even when actually doing it has produced more crime, and now we have a war between Ukraine and Russia. What is wrong with us?

Well, it is really quite simple. Left with unbridled power and no accountability, human beings tend to choose wickedness more than peace. We do not see our struggling neighbors across the border as those in need; instead, we see their struggle as an opportunity for the accumulation of power. We are hopelessly addicted to ourselves and we only need to look out the window to confirm this as true. 

What would the world look like if we were actually getting better? Well, we would wage peace and not war. We would give more than we get. We would celebrate difference and not divide over it. There would be road goodwill and not rage. Those with the most money would be those who give the most money. Our politicians would serve their constituents instead of themselves. We would need help managing our peace and not our anger. We would partner with other countries instead of invading them. Unfortunately, those are not reflective of our world. 

As this war drones on, I fear this is just the beginning of the conflict we will see in our future. We undermine morality and promote selfishness to create larger profit margins then when it takes a sinister turn we are shocked and confused. None of this should be a surprise to us! Someone told me long ago that absolute power corrupts absolutely and I continue to see examples of this and yet, I still hear politicians on both sides of the isle tell us with a straight face how their party needs absolute control. If this does not insult you to the core then you are either not paying attention or do not  care. 

The war in Ukraine is another example of our problem … we still do not understand who we are as human beings. Until we do that, not only will we not understand each other but we will never ever get along with each other either. I hope I am wrong.